Alan joined Bank of Ireland in April 2018 as Regional Sales Manager. In March 2019 he moved to head up the Sales team as National Sales Manager and in April 2023 was promoted to Head of Sales, Distribution and Marketing.

He has over 15 years’ experience in the mortgage industry and prior to joining Bank of Ireland held roles with NatWest and RBS spanning Retail, Business and Private Banking as both Area and Regional Director.

He’s an active member of IMLA and the Diversity and Inclusivity Finance Forum (DIFF) and has held active roles with UK Finance on the Mortgage Policy Committee .

When he’s not traveling around the UK for work, Alan enjoys spending time at home in Lancaster with his family however most weekends are spent with his head in his hands watching his beloved Leeds United.

www.bankofireland.com

Bio coming soon.

www.halifax-intermediaries.co.uk

Atlyn Forde is a dynamic leader in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), with a wealth of experience in both the financial services sector and the travel and tourism industry, Atlyn has been instrumental in driving positive change and fostering inclusive cultures.

With her extensive background in research, marketing, and communications, Atlyn has played a pivotal role in transforming organisations. Notably, at Pepper Money, she spearheaded a remarkable cultural shift, championing diversity and inclusion as core values. Her efforts have supported the development of a more inclusive and equitable workplace environment, where colleagues and customers' needs and contributions are celebrated and valued.

Recognising her exceptional efforts, Atlyn was awarded Best Leadership in DEI by the Women’s Recognition Awards and has been recognised as a finalist for the esteemed FT Adviser Diversity Champion of the Year award. This prestigious nomination underscores her dedication to driving meaningful change and advancing diversity and inclusion at Pepper Money, in her community and across a variety of sectors. With her diverse background and expertise in DEI, marketing, and communications, Atlyn brings a unique perspective to her work. Her ability to bridge the gap between DEI principles and effective communication strategies allows her to influence key stakeholders and drive impactful initiatives that resonate with diverse audiences.

www.pepper.money

Bio coming soon.

www.utbank.co.uk

Charlotte is a multi-award-winning marketer with a passion for delivering education and knowledge to the property finance market. She entered the specialist finance sector nearly 10 years ago, previously working for a specialist finance distributor before joining Roma Finance. She is Level 7 CIM qualified and has worked in marketing and communications for over 20 years across various industries.

She has a passion for finance and particularly the specialist market, where a real difference can be made for so many borrowers. The short-term lending sector is a buoyant and exciting place to be and she thrives on supporting partners and customers to maximise opportunities for all.

romafinance.co.uk

With over 20 years experience working across all sides of the mortgage market, Claire Askham is well known throughout the industry as a specialist lending expert.

Claire is a popular and knowledgeable spokesperson, appearing at hundreds of events across the country and regularly featuring in the mortgage press. A firm believer in industry collaboration and happy to share her knowledge and expertise, Claire is equally at home taking part in panel debates as she is discussing complex cases with brokers and training her colleagues.

Claire’s positivity and passion for the industry is clear to see, working creatively to solve problems and finds solutions that add value to intermediaries and their businesses.

www.bucksbs.co.uk

Collette Allen is chief operating officer (COO) at SmartSearch. She was the company’s youngest board member and the first female in the boardroom, appointed age 28.

She is an experienced revenue and operations leader with a passion for people and tech. Accredited with being a 'Great Place to Work', SmartSearch is a leading UK provider of anti-money-laundering and digital compliance software.

www.smartsearch.com

Bio coming soon.

www.octanecapital.co.uk

Emma Roberts is Head of Intermediary Relationships at Connect for Intermediaries. Connect is a mortgage network with just over 300 members, as well as being a large mortgage brokerage with a particular strength in the specialist markets and a packaging arm too, not only for Connect members but for the wider broker population. This giving Connect a strong and fairly unique proposition.

Emma has enjoyed a fast paced and successful career in the specialist lending market for over 10 years, before that she held roles at Santander and Enterprise Rent a Car. She is now responsible for leading the Relationship team at Connect, making sure the network members are happy and supported, along with working alongside the team to ensure that Connect is viewed as a Network of choice for both new and established mortgage advisers.

Emma joined Connect in May 2020 as a Relationship Manager. Since then Emma has been instrumental in record growth for the Network along with personal achievements of winning a Women’s recognition award and being a finalist in various others.

connectbrokers.co.uk

Bio coming soon.

www.sbg.co.uk

I’ve had the pleasure of working within the financial services industry for over 30 years. Within that time, I have worked both in mainstream and specialist lending.

My past roles have included being a Mortgage Broker, Bridging/Mortgage BDM, Key Account Manager and Head of Sales. I decided to change direction 3 years ago and moved into recruitment.

The best part of being a recruiter is the fact you can make positive changes in people’s lives and that is extremely rewarding. It’s been a dream to still work with past industry colleagues and contacts and I am proud that many people have reached out to work with me either as a candidate or business client. Knowing the industry makes a huge difference when it comes to recruiting top talent to the right companies.

www.recruited.uk.com

Having worked at Coventry Building Society for over 16 years, Jonathan is an experienced head of intermediary relationship management with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry.

Following his experience in business development and head of sales roles at the Society, Jonathan’s current position involves leading account management teams and BDM's, and overseeing the operational function for intermediary development as well as fostering broker relationships

www.coventryforintermediaries.co.uk

Karen Rodrigues became Head of National Accounts at MFS - Market Financial Solutions when she joined the team in July 2023, and has since been promoted to Head of Sales.

With over 25 years experience in the mortgage intermediary sector, Karen is focused on bringing MFS' wide range of fast and flexible financial products to the large clubs, networks & packagers across the UK. Starting her career in financial services with Halifax, Karen has always worked closely with mortgage intermediaries, focusing on networking to build longstanding and deep relationship and understanding the service requirements of networks, clubs, packagers and mortgage intermediaries.

Karen moved to One Savings Bank, where she was a National Account Manager working on both the Kent Reliance and Prestige Finance brands, as well as holding positions at Aldermore Mortgages, GE Money and Kensington. Karen worked as Corporate Sales Manager for Vida Homeloans for 4 years, and in April 2020, Karen joined ULS technology, now Smoove as director of sales promoting the eConveyancer brand.

www.mfsuk.com

Kate is the Chief Financial Officer at Hope Capital, proudly supporting CEO, Jonathan Sealey, to develop the strategic direction of the business, with a focus on the delivery of strong commercial growth.

Kate has been recognised on multiple occasions as a leading woman in the industry, winning the Bridging Finance Solutions CFO of the Year (UK) Award at the Global CFO Excellence Awards amongst receiving various other recognitions.

hope-capital.co.uk

I was integral to the launch of standard life home finance to the intermediary market in October 2021. I started my later life lending journey with Key Group in 2018 and recently appointed as Head of retirement distribution for Aviva.

The majority of my 30+ years in financial services was with Lloyds Banking Group where I managed the sales team for their intermediary broker operation. Also managed the annuities team at Prudential and sales team for part of Towergate Group. I an a strong advocate and promoter of equality, diversity and inclusivity across financial services.

http://www.aviva-for-advisers.co.uk

Leigh has a career spanning 26 years in the intermediary market, which includes working in key roles across Mortgage Distribution and UK Lenders.

Starting out his career as a Telesales General Insurance manager for Legal and General and whilst working there Leigh was introduced to the Tied Agents department which ignited his passion to work within intermediaries where he became a BDM for the General Insurance division. This lead to an opportunity to be Head of Sales at the Legal and General Mortgage Club. Leigh went on to join BM Solutions as a Regional Manager until he was announced Head of BM Solutions in 2023.

As Head of BM Solutions, Leigh takes responsibility for the strategic leadership of the brand & the delivery of market leading service and propositions to support the needs of the intermediary market. Leigh has responsibility for the Business Development Team and Telephony BDMs, who are there to develop effective & meaningful relationships with our key partners.

www.bmsolutions.co.uk

Martese has been in the industry for over 26 years and is passionate about mortgages! Martese is the Director of Mortgage Distribution for Leeds Building Society where she has worked for nearly 8 years.

She has previously held positions at NatWest Intermediary Solutions and Birmingham Midshires.

http://www.leedsbuildingsociety.co.uk/

Bio coming soon.

www.twenty7tec.com

Nicola Firth was a mortgage broker for 13 years, first as an appointed representative and then as a directly authorised broker.

She ran her own brokerage for seven years. It was a frustration for her as a broker, finding the best rate for a client but then discovering the lender wouldn’t accept the criteria – and neither would the next lender on the list or even the one after that. This meant spending hours and even days trying to place cases. It was this which led her to found Knowledge Bank, the UK’s first criteria search system.

After 18 months of testing and development Knowledge Bank launched officially in September 2017.

It has now grown to be the largest database of mortgage lending criteria held in the UK serving thousands of brokers and lenders across seven different lending types, including residential, buy-to-let, second charges, equity release, self-build, bridging and commercial and winning 25 prestigious industry awards for the technology.

www.knowledgebank.uk/

A trusted partner driving technology innovation for mortgage professionals - award winning ‘Women in Protection’ Women’s Recognition Awards 2023 winner.

Passionate about driving innovation and change for the financial services industry. As a National Account Manager at Mortgage Brain I am responsible for maintaining corporate account relationships with key industry partners, overseeing the development of tailored solutions, and supporting the launch of new tech products hitting the market in 2024 and beyond.

mortgagebrain.com

Nina Brown is a multi award winning protection specialist working within her family firm of Pam Brown Mortgages based in Bicester, working alongside her mum.

Nina is the winner of Protection Adviser of the year 2023 at the Women's Recognition Awards and she highlights a true passion and enthusiasm for the industry.

www.pbmortgages.co.uk

I'm Rachel Lummis, founder & Director of Xpress Mortgages. I set up Xpress Mortgages, a Directly Authorised Mortgage Advisors, 18 years ago in 2006 from my bedroom!

Now based in a High Street shop in Byfleet village in Surrey, Xpress Mortgages is a small but lively office with an all-female team of 4, I run the business and manage the team, I advise clients on Mortgages and protection full time along with fellow adviser Carmen. I am passionate and supportive of our Mortgage Industry.

xpressmortgages.co.uk

Bio coming soon.

intermediaries.uk.barclays/home/

Tony Hall is Head of Business Development at Saffron Building Society, where he has made a significant contribution to business strategy.

Tony has a rich background in financial services that spans more than three decades. He has held numerous positions at a number of other financial services organisations, from managing branches to being head of sales and distribution functions. Tony's work at Saffron began on an interim basis in 2020 at Head of Mortgage Sales.

After growing the sales team with his proactive, service-led approach, he stepped into his current role which also encompasses leading Saffron's property development team. Beyond his work at Saffron, Tony is an active board member of the National Custom and Self Build Association (NaCSBA), promoting custom and self build as mainstream choices for everyone seeking a home of their own.

www.saffronbs.co.uk

Bio coming soon.

www.hsbc.co.uk